France mourns death of 'French Elvis' Johnny Hallyday

FILE PHOTO: French singer Johnny Hallyday waves to fans attending a ceremony to promote his new album "Jamais seul" (Never alone) at the Virgin Megastore in Paris

FILE PHOTO: French singer Johnny Hallyday waves to fans attending a ceremony to promote his new album "Jamais seul" (Never alone) at the Virgin Megastore in Paris early March 28, 2011. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo

By Brian Love

PARIS (Reuters) - Johnny Hallyday, whose death at 74 was announced by his wife and the French president on Wednesday, was a rock and roll giant in his native France, surviving drug use, family strife and near-death episodes to strut the stage for more than 50 years.

Known for his cowboy swagger, gravelly voice, abundant tattoos and leather biker jackets, the "French Elvis" had tens of millions of fans, above all in his native France, where he sold more records than any other singer.

Hallyday died after a battle with lung cancer. His wife Laeticia phoned French President Emmanuel Macron at about 2 a.m. (0100 GMT) with news that triggered an outpouring of grief from fans, politicians and celebrities.

"For more than 50 years, he was a vibrant icon," read a statement by Macron, who this summer attended a concert Hallyday gave days after a dose of chemotherapy.

Later, during a visit to Algeria, Macron said: "Homage will be paid."

Hallyday sold more than 100 million albums over the decades, mostly in the French-speaking world. He never quite conquered the United States, where he lived in Los Angeles in later years.

"I write these words without believing them. But yet, it's true. My man is no longer with us," his wife said in a statement.

Police were posted outside his house west of Paris.

Broadcasters provided wall-to-wall coverage of the rocker's life, with reams of black-and-white film and song tapes tracing the history of a man regarded by many, non-fans included, as part of French national heritage.

Lawmakers in France's lower house of parliament paid their respects with a standing ovation.

In Belgium, his father's birthplace, the underground railway authority said it would pipe his music into trains, while Brussels City Hall said his biggest hits would be aired over loudspeakers at the famous Grand Place square in an evening tribute.

ROCK STAR LIFE

American newspaper USA Today once dubbed Hallyday "the greatest rock star you never heard of," but in France he was a monument known simply as "Johnny."

He drew huge crowds and sang to more than 750,000 at a free concert he held near the Eiffel Tower on France's Bastille Day national holiday in 2009.

Hallyday's 2011 album "Jamais Seul" went straight to number one despite his reputation among younger generations as passé.

A star who forged his career recycling rock gems such as The Animals' version of "House of the Rising Sun" or Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe", Hallyday also starred in movies and adverts.

He once claimed to have been born in Oklahoma and said his stage name Hallyday came from a doctor there who saved an acquaintance.

Born Jean-Philippe Leo Smet in Paris to Huguette Clerc and Belgian-born Leon Smet in 1943, Johnny was raised by his aunt when his parents split up.

He spent his early years on the road with his cousins in an acrobatic dance troupe, taking to the stage himself at 12 and singing country songs dressed as a child Davy Crockett.

He changed style after seeing Elvis Presley in "Loving You". His first single, "T'aimer Follement" (To Love You Madly), came at age 16.

Wild stage antics sparked rioting at concerts. The Harley Davidson fan won a name for his hard-living streak as well as his chart-topping albums.

Drugs, alcohol and Gitanes cigarettes, the latter apparently adopted on the advice of rocker Keith Richards, helped carve out the husky voice and craggy face that were trademarks before age too took its toll.

In 1965 he married pop singer Sylvie Vartan, with whom he had a son, David Hallyday, now a singer. Divorce in 1980 was followed by four other marriages, one that lasted 62 days and two to the same woman, Adeline Blondiau.

Hallyday's fifth marriage was to Laeticia Boudou in 1996, with whom he adopted two daughters, Joy and Jade.

After back surgery in 2008, he was put into an artificial coma to treat pain caused by an infection, which he had sought for weeks to keep at bay with ever-larger amounts of alcohol.

His daughter Laura Smet, by third wife Nathalie Baye, is an actress like her mother.